A Terrible Mistake
by LisaMarie
Summary: Athena Black was overlooked as a witch. Now at the age of 15 they have found her and are bringing her to Hogwarts. Hermione is appointed as her tutor. She becomes friends with Ron and Harry. Romances occur.
1. The New Student

~~~~~~~Faulkner Orphanage~~~~~~~

Athena sat at the window looking out at the far off hills. _I need to get out of this place before I go crazy!_ The fourteen year old had lived in the Faulkner Orphanage for as long as she could remember. Tomorrow was her fifteenth birthday but no one but her would remember. She was too old to be adopted, no one voluntarily chose to have a teenager. She got up and moved to the mirror and assessed herself. She wasn't ugly, she was medium height (5'4"), and had black hair and violet eyes. Her big problem was that she was kind of...strange...not in looks but in behavior. The heads knew that weird things happened when she was around and warned potential parents about it. It seemed whenever she got really angry or wanted something really badly odd things happened. _Who am I kidding? I'm going to stay here until I'm eighteen and I get kicked out to starve on the streets._ She looked in the mirror once more and shook her head. Then she crawled into bed in the room she shared with five other girls.

~~~~~~~Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry~~~~~~~

"How could this happen? How could we be so...mistaken? To have a witch overlooked for four years?"

"Relax, Minerva, it will all work itself out. But we must bring her here immediately. Hagrid, go fetch her. Bring her to Diagon and help her get her stuff. I must draft a letter to Sirius. I am very disappointed in him. How could he keep it from us that he had a daughter?" Dumbledore was in shock. Never in the history of Hogwarts had this happened. A witch going unnoticed for four years? Where should he put her? With the first years or with her class? "I need to see Hermione Granger as soon as possible."

~~~~~~~Faulkner Orphanage~~~~~~~

Hagrid rode through the night sky towards Faulkner Orphanage. He shook his head _An undiscovered witch...and the daughter of Sirius Black as well, who woulda guessed?_ He pulled up to the window and opened it using his wand. Ever since he's name had been cleared he was allowed to use magic again, instead of that silly umbrella. He still carried it though. It was pretty. He climbed through the window, an interesting feat for such a large man and approached a bed. There were five girls in the room but he knew which one he was coming for. He reached out a hand carefully and tapped her gently. Nothing happened. He tapped her again, a little harder this time. She stirred and slowly opened her eyes. He saw the fear register and right before she could scream he pointed his wand "_Silencius totalus_" and she was rendered silent. "My name is 'agrid. You must come with me, you are a witch and belong at 'ogwarts. Don't be scared." Athena was scared though, what was this man doing here, what did he mean she was a witch, and why couldn't she speak? But he was offering her a chance to leave the orphanage and even if he was only going to kill her she couldn't help but think that it would be better than staying there. She nodded and he pointed the wand once again. "_Restorus_. Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go outside so we don't wake anyone up." She started to the door but he stopped her. "This way."

"But we're three stories up!"

"Trust me." He opened the window and climbed through she looked and saw he was now sitting on...a flying motorcycle? He stuck out his hand to her and she climbed on behind him. They flew off and soon arrived in London. He touched down in a back alley and parked in front of a run-down bar. Athena read the sign, it was called "The Leaky Cauldron." "'Ave a seat, I'll get you sumthin' to drink and explain what is going on." He went up to the bar and left Athena to look around. The people in the bar were quite strange looking and all knew Hagrid. They called out to him.

"Hello, Hagrid, nice to see you." "Is this the next Harry Potter?" "You want the usual?" "How're things at Hogwarts?" Slowly Athena realized that they were all wearing robes. Were they really witches and wizards? Was this...giant...telling her the truth. He returned to the table with their drinks.

"'ere, now. Do you know who yer father is?"

"No, do you?"

"Of course I do! Your father is Sirius Black, a brilliant wizard who was wrongly accused of being a terrible criminal. We are unaware of who your mother is and why Sirius gave you up but we are working to find out. I'm 'ere to take you to 'ogwarts. There you'll learn to use your pow'r. There's only one problem."

"What?" Athena was intrigued and found herself believing everything he said. Deep down she knew she had some power. And she know knew who her father was.

"Well, you see, most students enter 'ogwarts at the age of eleven. You aren't eleven, you're fifteen. Oh yeah, 'appy birthday! Somehow you were unrecorded. We just know discovered you existed. To tell you the truth we aren't really sure yet what to do with you. But for now we will get your basic supplies and send for your books later, when we know what classes ye are to take."

"Sounds good."

"Well aren't you Miss Willing. You'll do well."

"When you've been living in a orphanage for as long as you know anything new sounds great. And this whole magic thing sounds absolutely wonderful." Hagrid smiled and they continued to talk amicably as he led her outside behind the bar. He touched some bricks and the wall opened up leading to a bustling street. Athena saw more robe-clad wizards and witches there. She was in absolute awe of the magnificence of the place. She was beginning to realize just how sheltered she'd been her whole life. Hagrid led her from store to store and she just took in her surroundings.

"Well, all that's left is yer wand. We could only get the basics since we don't know what class ye'll be takin'. All that's left now is yer wand." He led her into a store and introduced her to Olivander, the wand man. He studied for a second and then went to get something. He returned with a slender box.

"Try this one. Willow and Unicorn Hair." She waved it tentatively and purple rose petals shot out. "Perfect. A beautiful wand for a beautiful girl. But is this your first wand? Aren't you a bit old?" Hagrid shook his head to discourage anymore questions.

"I want to make one more stop. This is something I did once before and want to do fer you. In here." They entered a pet store. "Pick one." Athena looked at all the pets. She had always wanted a pet but the closest she ever got were roaches she'd trapped at Faulkner. She wasn't sure what she wanted but then something caught her eye. It was a tiny, gray kitten.

"Oh."

"Do you need some help Miss?" A nice salesman had come up to her.

"I believe I'd like to buy the kitten fer the girl. Is this the one you want?"

"Yes. Um...is it a gril or a boy? Just out of curiosity."

"Girl. You got a name picked out?" She shook her head and waited while Hagrid paid.

"Well, it's off we go now. Normally you'd take the Hogwart's Express but since classes started last week I'll bring you." 

~~~~~~~Hogwarts~~~~~~~

"Hermione Granger is here to see you sir."

"Thank you, Minerva." Hermione was led in and Professor McGonagall followed. "Miss Granger, have a seat. You can relax, you aren't in trouble. As you know you have consistently had the highest marks in your class each year. We of the faculty are now in need of your assistance. How would you feel about tutoring another student? This is a very special circumstance and we would be very thankful."

"Of course! But what are these 'special circumstances' sir?" Hermione was ebullient . She was asked to do a favor by the head master himself.

"Well, Hermione. There will be a new student this year. She should be here soon. She is the same age as you but we just recently discovered her assistance. I would like you to help her advance as fast as possible."

"Of course I would, sir." She was already formulating a list of what books she would need to read.

"Thank you very much. You will meet her later on. You may go now." Herimone left and went straight to the library. Professor Dumbledore, in the meantime, was waiting for his next guest, Sirius Black. Soon a large black dog walked into the room. "Good to see you Sirius." The dog changed into a large man.

"What seems to be the problem, Albus?"

"Tell me about your daughter."

"My what?" Dumbledore then realized that it was possible Sirius didn't know of the existence of his daughter.

"I see there is a problem here. Well, it's recently been discovered that a witch escaped our notice and she is your daughter. She has been living in an orphanage for the past fifteen years--"

"Don't you mean eleven?"

"No, fifteen. That's where the problem lies. She is four years behind in her training."

"Where is she now?"

"She should be here shortly."

Hermione, meanwhile was in the Library looking at books that would help her. She didn't notice when two figures walked up behind her. "Hey, Hermione." She jumped slightly and looked over her shoulder, there were Ron and Harry. "What are you doing in here?" It was Ron who spoke.

"I've just been asked by Professor Dumbledore to undertake a special project."

"Really? What is it?" Harry was a bit curious.

"I can't tell you. He said it was a secret." Harry and Ron exchanged looks. Since when did the word secret keep them from sharing? Hermione saw this and knew what they were thinking. "Look, I don't want to talk about it now. Maybe later okay. Now I have work to do. Would you mind leaving me alone?"

"Well, if you're going to be like that we will. Come on, Harry."

Hermione didn't like keeping things from her friends but she couldn't tell them in the library, especially not with Draco Malfoy sitting at the next table. After another half hour she brought her books to check them out. She had found three so far. The one she thought would help the most was _Magic Learned Fast._ She hoped this girl would be nice and not mind hard work. She also hoped she wouldn't be a Slytherin. Hermione looked at her watch, it was almost time for dinner. She would have just enough time to put her books in her room and then maybe meet Harry and Ron in the Griffyndor Common Room. Her timing was right and she did run into them as they were leaving. "Hey guys, wait up."

"Oh, look at this Ron. Now she wants to talk to us. When it's convenient for her." Hermione would have been hurt but they started to laugh. They walked down the corridor and Hermione was stopped by Professor McGonagall.

"Come with me please, Hermione. She has arrived." She swept Hermione away leaving Ron and Harry standing stunned.


	2. Family Reunion

A/N: This chapter contains references to the story Before They Were Legends by Leia Solo

Athena sat nervously in the waiting room outside the office of Professor Dumbledore. She looked down at the gray kitten on her lap. "You're so cute." She didn't know what was in store for her. It had seemed to her she'd been sitting out there forever by the time a teacher looking woman came up stairs with a girl who appeared to be about her age.

"I take it you are Athena Black?" The woman said.

"Yes, ma'am." Athena rose in respect.

"I am Professor McGonagall and this is Hermione Granger."

"Pleased to meet you both." Athena said politely.

"Oh! What a cute cat! Does it have a name?" The kitten purred as Hermione stepped forward to pet it.

Athena was suddenly embarrassed. She still hadn't named the kitten. _Think_ she told herself. "Artemis." She said shyly.

"Oh like the Greek Goddess. How cool. Especially since your name is Athena." The girl seemed nice and Hermione already liked her.

"Hermione will be helping you get caught up with your studies." Professor McGonagall said. Finally the door to Dumbledore's chamber opened and Hagrid came out. Athena was soothed by the sight of someone semi-familiar.

"You can all come in now." He said and the three entered Dumbledore's office.

"Athena? I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster here at Hogwarts. Please all of you have a seat. Sirius, this is your daughter." 

Athena and Sirius studied each other for a long while. 'You're beautiful." Sirius said after a time.

"Th-Thank you." Athena said.

"Now naturally we all have a few questions, especially for you Sirius." Dumbledore said. "Who, pray tell could be this child's mother?"

Sirius sat there as memories flooded back to that night. "Lyria." He croaked out. "Lyria has to be the mother."

"Lyria Strider?" Dumbledore asked. "The Auror?"

Sirius nodded. "The night they arrested me I was on my way to meet her. We hadn't spoken in months because we'd had a huge fight. Out of the blue she contacted me and said she had to tell me something. At that time she was the only women I was with." 

Dumbledore nodded and pulled out two scraps of parchment and proceeded to scrawl two notes. He snapped his fingers and two owls appeared. He tied a note to each owl and they flew out the window. After that he turned back to the group. "As you can see, we have quite a situation on our hands. Miss Black here is four years behind on her studies. You, Miss Granger, will be appointed as her tutor. I do not want to stick a fifteen year old with a bunch of eleven year olds so you will be in regular fifth year classes." 

Hermione looked confused. "How can anyone make up four years of work?" She asked. "Isn't it all cumulative?"

"In a way yes. But older wizards have a higher aptitude for learning than younger ones. This is why we don't accept students until the age of eleven in the first place. Athena will catch on rather quickly, I believe, especially considering who her parents are." He directed his gaze at Athena. "My dear you haven't said much."

"I...I don't know what _to_ say sir. I'm a little bewildered right now." 

"Understandable." Dumbledore said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lyria Strider was interrupted by the sound of a tapping at her window. She looked up and saw an owl there. Mumbling to herself about annoyances and the lack of quietude she went over to the window and opened it. She discovered the owl was bearing a note containing the Hogwarts seal. "Hogwarts? How strange." She said. She sat down and was about to read but the owl was hooting uncontrollably. "Oh, here." She said, giving it a bowl of water. It was silenced. She finally got to read the letter and was shocked by its content. "Oh my gosh." Lyria scrawled a response saying she was on her way and then hopped on her broom. Her daughter was alive and at this moment was at Hogwarts. It seemed like an eternity had passed by the time she was able to view the familiar turrets of the School. As she arrived she was unhappy to find Severus Snape waiting for her.

"Don't worry, I'm no happier about this than you are." Snape said. "Follow me." Lyria did so without comment. She knew the second she allowed her tongue to speak even a word to Severus it would end in a huge argument. Snape led her to Dumbledore's office and knocked on the door. Hagrid opened it and Lyria walked in. Her eyes immediately fell on Sirius Black and she emitted a small gasp.

"Miss Strider. Please have a seat." Dumbledore said. "Lyria, this is Athena...whom we believe to be your daughter." Lyria stared at Athena, and Athena stared back. "Well, for once the illustrious Auror is speechless." Dumbledore commented.

"I just..." Lyria started. "I need to sit down."

"Lyria, we'd like to know why your daughter was undiscovered. Sirius has an excuse for not knowing of her existence but I would think that you would have some knowledge that you had a child somewhere."

"Honestly? I wish I knew as well." She said. "But maybe you should talk to the Ministry about that. They are the ones who took her."

"What? Miss Strider this is a huge accusation. You're saying that the Ministry took your child, a witch, away from you and hid her. Now why would they do that?"

"Because her father is a murderer." Lyria said, not permitting herself to look in Sirius' direction.

"No, Miss Strider. He was acquitted." Dumbledore stated.

"Fine, they took her away because they thought her father was the dreaded Sirius Black, murderer and ASSHOLE extraordinaire."

"Lyria please." Sirius spoke up. "I didn't mean to..."

"Just shut up! I don't want or need your excuses." Lyria spat.

Dumbledore rose. "If you will both kindly close your mouths we can continue with this meeting. This is not about past relationships or who did what, this is about your daughter and in spite of what it is you feel for each other she belongs to both of you. Do either of you deny this?" Both shook their heads no. "And there is no way that anyone else could have fathered this baby?" 

"No." Lyria said firmly. "Sirius is without a doubt her father."

"Well then, that is cleared up. If everyone would please leave now I think Athena and her parents need some time alone." Dumbledore said, rising. The rest of the group hustled out and an uncomfortable silence fell over the room.


	3. Sorting Things Out

AN: OK, this is a bit short...I'm sorry you guys.

"You didn't tell me..." Sirius said sadly.

Lyria stood and looked at him in disbelief. "What? Didn't you _just _hear me say that I was coming to tell you?" Sirius' eyes met hers and held them locked. Lyria forced herself to turn away. "Don't you dare look at me."

"Lyri, I think you looked at me." Sirius said. "But please, I don't want to argue with you."

"Well that's a first." Lyria threw her hands up frustrated and then her gaze moved to Athena. "I'm so sorry dear." Her heart softened. This was her daughter, the one she'd missed for fifteen years. "You must think we're terribly awful."

"No...I think you're both wonderful." Athena said. She walked over to Lyria and put her arms around the woman. 

Lyria looked down at her and then carefully hugged her back. "My daughter." She whispered. Sirius stood and joined the hug from behind, his body coming in contact with Lyria's. She pulled back slightly but then forced herself to react. It wasn't his touch that bothered her, it was the feeling behind that touch.

"Well isn't this touching." Came the bitter voice of Severus Snape as he, Dumbledore, and McGonagall came back inside.

"Lyria sit, now." Dumbledore said in a steely tone. Lyria did so looking at Dumbledore expectantly. "Who's Jason?" Lyria's head turned away. "Answer me Miss Strider."

"Athena's twin brother...he died." She whispered, her voice catching. _NO! You will not cry in front of all these people, and especially not in front of Sirius. _

"Is that what the ministry told you?" Dumbledore asked.

"I saw them do it." She whispered hoarsely. Sirius moved to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Much to his surprise she didn't pull away.

"Well you were deceived." Dumbledore stated.

"I saw it, Albus." Lyria said. "I saw them kill my son."

"Our son." Sirius whispered.

"Jason's not dead." Dumbledore said. "I have here a letter from the ministry. It seems there was a huge cover-up when it came to your twins. It's being investigated now but it appears that Jason is very much alive. He's been living with a muggle family who he just ran away from."

"Why did they do this?" Lyria asked shaking her head sadly. Then she grew enraged. "That BASTARD he took-"

"Remember of whom you are speaking." Dumbledore cautioned.

"I DON'T CARE!" Lyria yelled back but Sirius rubbed her shoulder calming her.

"We have them back now." Sirius told her. "That's all that matters."

"You weren't even here." She whispered, but her anger was gone for the moment. "Please don't touch me."

Sirius moved his hand, saddened by her rejection. His love for her had never stopped and it'd gotten him through Azkabaan. "Lyria listen to me. We can't change the past, we can't change what the ministry did but we can help our children now, in anyway we can."

Athena watched her parents, wondering what their relationship had been like. They seemed to both love and hate each other at the same time. As she watched them she made a plan, she'd get them back together and maybe this brother of hers could help. "Please call Ms. Granger back in." Dumbledore told Snape. Snape did so and Dumbledore opened a cabinet and pulled out a ratty wizard's hat. "This, Athena, is the sorting hat. It has been warn by every witch and wizard that have ever passed through this school." He placed it on her head and it sang a little song. "Smart....temper like her mother....From the blood of a Strider and Black you can only be...GRYFFINDOR!!!!!!!!" The hat yelled.

Both Lyria and Sirius smiled proudly. "Your mother and I were Gryffindor's as well." Sirius smiled. "But he said you've got your mother's temper, that's a little scary." To his surprise Lyria laughed. 

"Well then." Dumbledore stood. "Miss Granger, show Miss Black to the Gryffindor common room and introduce her to her fellow students. I have some things to discuss with her parents."


	4. Memories: Old and New

A\N: I have to give my full thanks to Lyria Padfoot and her story "Before They Were Legends" published here. She was my muse this time around and added a few lines here and there...seeing as she is Lyria she understands the character better than anyone. The entire flashback scene is pasted directly from her story with her permission. THANK YOU MOMMY!!!!!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dumbledore sat across from Lyria and Sirius. "As per normalcy your children should live here at Hogwarts throughout the school year. I do know however that you want to get to know them so I have a proposition to make for each of you. The term started last week and already we've had two retirements. Of course, with our luck with Defense Against Dark Arts Teacher the one we had quit. Miss Strider you are an Auror and did very well in that class. How would you feel taking it over? Unless you'd rather teach Potions in which case I'd have Severus do the job."

"Which would he prefer?" Lyria asked, trying to control her excitement. To teach Defense Against Dark Arts would be perfect.

"Defense Against Dark Arts." Dumbledore answered.

"Good, than that's what I'll take." She said, with a mischievous grin.

Dumbledore laughed and his eyes twinkled. "How did I know that that is what you would say. Now Sirius, Professor Binns has finally resigned and I would like you to take over for him."

"Professor Binns resigned? No way he's been here since...well forever." Sirius said, surprised.

"I know, I was just as shocked. But he mumbled something about kids today and disrespect. I was just happy to see him go." Dumbledore admitted. "He was very smart but I hear very boring as well."

Sirius and Lyria both laughed but Lyria stopped when she heard him. Sirius looked over at her sadly but Lyria turned away. "When do we start?" She asked Dumbledore, forcing down the desire to comfort Sirius and tell him it would be alright. It wouldn't be alright ever again, but she still loved him, very much. She'd tried being with other men but it hadn't worked. She was always thinking of him, his dark eyes, his tall handsome figure. _Stop it!_ She yelled at herself. _Don't do this. He's not that man anymore. Even if he didn't kill all those people he still betrayed Lily and James. _Her memory sped off to the night they'd fought.

~~~~~_Flashback~~~~~~_

"I don't believe you!" Lyria snapped. "He's your best friend, and you're passing off the most important thing he's ever asked of you to someone else!"  
  
The night had started wonderfully. Sirius had come home, armed with flowers for Lyria's birthday. Over dinner, he'd casually brought up that he was trying to convince James to use someone else as Secret Keeper. Big mistake. The beautifully decorated flat had become a war zone.  
  
"I'm trying to protect them!" Sirius bellowed. "No one's going to think they'd use someone else!" He tried to calm down, but with little success. "Lyria, I don't know if I trust myself with..."  
  
"So you don't trust yourself? Then how the hell am I supposed to trust you?!?"  
  
"How is this about me now?" He demanded. "And if you agreed to marry me when you don't know you can trust me, you're the stupidest person I've ever met!"  
  
"THEN WHY DID YOU ASK ME TO MARRY YOU? Huh?!? Any reason you moved in here, or were you just after me for sex? Or information? Someone's been passing it on to the Death Eaters!!"  
  
"AFTER YOU FOR... ARE YOU ACCUSING ME?!?" That was it. He'd take almost anything from Lyria, but her accusations of betrayal he would not stand for.  
  
"EVERYONE ELSE SEEMS TO BE!" She barked. "And you aren't denying it."  
  
"I'M NOT DENYING IT?!? I shouldn't have to, we're engaged!! Ever since your damned Auror training, everyone's a traitor, aren't they??" He snapped.  
  
Lyria's eyes narrowed. "Maybe you should take your little motorbike and fly it the hell out of my life."  
  
"Sounds like the best idea you've had all night," He replied, slamming the door behind him.  
  
Lyria sat down on the bed in a state of shock, glancing at the flowers that rested on the pillow. So much for a nice night... and so much for telling him the news.  
  
What did it matter, anyway? She could raise a baby just fine all by herself.

~~~~~~~~~~~End Flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~

But she couldn't raise her baby...babies. She hadn't known at the time they were twins. No, because of him they'd taken her babies away. He had ruined her life and led to it's destruction. "Lyria? Lyria are you okay?" Dumbledore asked looking at her in a concerned fashion. She seemed to have faded out.

Lyria's head snapped up. "Sorry, yes, I'm here." She said quickly, focusing only on the Headmaster.

"Well to answer your question you start on Monday." Dumbledore said. Lyria nodded and stood up. "Well if you could show me to my chambers I'll just go and get my things from home."

  
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Hermione smiled at the overwhelmed Athena. "You'll love Hogwarts. I have to say that I'm very glad you're a Gryffindor, I try to be impartial but if you were a Slytherin this would be hard. But you seem nice and I'm glad to help you."

"Thanks.." Athena said quietly. They walked up to a painting of a fat woman. 

"Hello Hermione." The painting said, smiling. Athena jumped back and choked.

"It's okay. She guards our door." Hermione said.

  
"But she talked...and smiled...." Athena stuttered. 

"That I did, who is this girl?" The Fat Lady asked.

"Athena Black. She's a newbie." Hermione responded.

The Fat Lady looked at her confused because the girl looked so old. "Password?"

"Fluffernutter." Hermione said and Athena laughed. 

"The password's fluffernutter?" She asked as the painting swung open and Hermione led her into the Gryffindor common room. The entire room was decorated in red and gold and a huge lion was on the wall. A few people were sitting around talking, studying and doing other things. All wore long black robes. Athena looked down at her clothing and realized she must look very strange. Two boys stood up and walked toward them, one had red hair and was fairly tall, the other brown hair and a funny shaped scar on his forehead.

"Hey Hermione, who's this?" The dark haired boy asked.

"This is Athena Black...as in the daughter of Sirius Black..." Hermione said. "Athena, meet Harry Potter and Ron Weasley."

"Nice to meet you." Athena said shyly. _Boy he's cute..._ She thought as her gaze rested on the one called Ron.

"Wait just a minute. Sirius Black has a daughter?" Harry asked. He was confused, this girl looked about their age...but he'd never seen her before.

"He didn't know either, but yes. And this is she." Hermione smiled. "She's my project."

"I'd like a project like that..." Ron said and then turned as red as his hair. Athena did too. "Erm...I mean..."

"Erm?" Athena giggled, her nose wrinkling slightly. "What kind of word is that?"

Hermione and Harry started to laugh, they were always bugging him about that. Also they hadn't seen Ron look at a girl like that since Fleur Delacoeur. "It's...erm...an erm word..." Ron stuttered, blushing harder.

Athena laughed again. "Harry's kind of your brother...Sirius is his Godfather and he's an orphan." Hermione tried to explain.

"Me too. Or I used to be." Athena said. It slowly began to hit her, she was no longer an orphan. She had parents, two...real live...though maybe slightly dysfunctional...parents. "How'd you get that cool scar on your forehead?" She asked Harry.

Harry looked at her in shock. "You mean you don't know? I was shocked when you didn't recognize my name...where've you been living? Under a rock?"

"Um...nope an orphanage in Liverpool." Athena said.

"A _muggle _orphanage." Hermione added, she then turned to Athena. "Muggle is what we in the magic world call the non-magical folk."

"That's why she's dressed funny." Harry said laughing. "I'm sorry, I grew up in the muggle world too, as did Hermione. You'll get used to robes and things. The hats are the strangest but you only wear them on occasion." Athena laughed again. "So you're like my sister...that's cool."

"Yeah...I have a twin brother...but they haven't found him yet." Athena said. She smiled at Ron.

"Erm..." Ron managed to squeak. _What a smile...what a laugh...those eyes._

Harry laughed and pushed Ron. "Hey, you alive?" He asked him. Ron blushed again.

"Come on, we'll leave Ron to breathe again and I'll show you our room." Hermione said, she led Athena up to her room, where there was an extra bed. "You should probably change into your robes and shoes."

"Can't I wear my sneakers?"

Hermione shrugged. "Go ahead. You may as well try it til someone yells. So, let's get started on this magic thing. We'll do it here, I don't want you to get covered in Ron's drool."

"He is cute..." Athena said softly. 

"Ron Weasley? Cute?" Hermione laughed and then thought a bit. Ron had filled out a little and his hair had darkened. "Maybe."

"Are you and Harry a couple?"

"Me and Harry? Oh Lord no." Hermione laughed. "No, we're all just really good friends."

Athena looked at her dubiously. "Sure." She laughed and set Artemis down on the bed. "Okay, what first?"


	5. Friendly Competition?

Lyria looked around the house she'd lived in for the past few years. She wasn't sad to leave it, she was more sad that she really had nothing of value she wanted to take. Only one box had she packed, not counting her robes and other supplies. In the box were her memories. She hadn't looked at it in awhile, it hurt too bad. But she knew every item in it without having to look. Tied in a nice little bundle was every letter Sirius had ever written her, from scribbled notes during potions to long letters when she'd go away on auror duty. When she closed her eyes she could see his signature scrawled in dark red ink. _Sirius Black_. Then a small pawprint with a heart around it. Also in there was her old Hogwarts journal and some other little memorabilia. She had wanted to burn all of it the night of the fight but was never able to. No matter how sour it had turned the relationship she and Sirius had shared had been amazing. An old quote came to mind, _"Tis Better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all."_ She couldn't remember who'd said it originally but it was true. She would never trade what they had for anything. Not even now, knowing how badly it hurt. Seeing him had been a shock. He looked good, but rougher around the edges, colder. That was to be expected, seeing how he'd spent so much time in Azkabaan. She sighed and then took a deep breath. "Time to go." She whispered. She carried the last of her things outside and then locked her door, closing it on her old life. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Athena lay back on her bunk, exhausted from the rigorous studying Hermione was putting her through. She was already able to do a few simple spells though, which made it all worthwhile. Finally Hermione decreed that it was time for supper. Athena followed her to the Great Hall where they sat at a table with all the other Gryffindors. Across from them sat Ron and Harry. As the two boys greeted them they each remembered their conversation from earlier. 

  
~~~_Flashback_~~~ 

Ron stared at the back of the retreating girl. "Whoa..." He whispered.  
  
Harry worked hard to conceal his laughter. "Dude, Ron, you don't even have a chance." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked, whirling on Harry, suddenly furious. 

Ron's movements caught Harry by surprise. He wasn't used to seeing his friend get so worked up. "Relax. I didn't mean anything by it." 

"Yes you did!" Ron said angrily. "You think I'm not good enough for her or something. You know, I bet you want her for yourself." 

"What? No, she's like my sister Ron, we established that. Even if I did-" 

"She's not your sister though, she's Sirius' daughter, you're his godson. No relation." 

"I don't like her Ron." 

"So now you're saying there's something wrong with her?" Ron questioned, his face red with anger instead of embarrassment.  
  
"Ron!" Harry yelled. "SHUT UP!" Ron glared but stopped babbling. "Now look, I would never go after a girl you liked okay?" 

"You're only saying that because she acted interested in me and not you." Ron said. 

Now Harry really wanted to laugh but knew that that would make the situation worse. "I wouldn't do it anyway. Ron you are my friend. If you like her go after her, don't let me stand in your way. I won't even think about liking her okay? I'm backing off now." 

"Right, because there's no way the illustrious Harry Potter could lose a girl to poor Ron Weasley without him backing off and handing the girl to his little sidekick." Harry stared at Ron for a few seconds and then walked upstairs. He'd wait for Ron to get over it, and when he did things would be okay. 

~~~_End Flashback_~~~ 

Harry had grown only more angry sitting up in his room. What the hell had Ron been doing? He was only trying to be good friend and Ron just went off. So Harry had made a decision. He'd purposely flirt with this new girl just to prove to Ron he _could_ in fact get the girl. Of course Ron didn't know that. Ron had apoligized and thought things would be left at that. Well he was wrong. 

Ron smiled at Athena and demanded in his head that he speak. _Come on Ron, you can do it..._ He told himself. "Erm....hi.." He whispered.  


"Hey what's up?" Athena said as she sat. 

_Good,_ Ron congratulated himself. _Now, more..._ "Erm...uh..." Nothing was coming out. "I..." 

"I think he's trying to say not much." Harry answered for him, smiling at Athena. Ron wasn't the only one who'd filled out over the past summer. Harry had persuaded Madame Pomfrey to preform a spell which made him no longer need glasses. On top of that he had gotten a haircut and worked out a bit. He wasn't quite as nerdy. Athena looked at him appreciatively. He was really cute too, maybe even cuter than Ron...and he talked. Harry caught her eye and kept talking. "So did Hermione run you ragged?" 

"Pretty much yeah." Athena answered. "God I must look like crap." 

_Now Ron! Tell her she's beautiful!_ Ron encouraged myself. 

"Definitely not. In fact you may look even more beautiful than before." 

Ron let out a silent cheer until he realized the words hadn't come from his mouth. They came from Harry's. Ron shot him a steely glare and then looked down on his plate, noticing Athena blushing profusely, immensely flattered. 

"Thanks." Athena whispered, brushing a stray hair off her face. "That's real nice of you to say." 

"Nice or not, it's the truth." Harry smiled again as the food appeared on the table. 

"Wow..." Athena was shocked, but no one could tell if it was from the food's appearance or Harry's comment. Ron was fuming by now and took a roll out of the basket, aggressively tearing it into little pieces. Athena gaped at the amount of food on the table. "I have never seen so much food in my entire life." 

"This is nothing." Hermione answered, noticing the angry look of Ron and the self satisfied one Harry wore. "Just wait until the real feasts." 

Athena ate slowly, forcing herself not to over indulge. At the orphange they got oatmeal, every day, breakfast, lunch, dinner, all the time. She carefully took a bite of the chicken. "Oh yum." 

"You look like I did the first time I came here." Harry noted. "I lived with my mom's sister's family. They weren't too nice and didn't give me all that much to eat so I was quite shocked to see and taste the foods here." 

"Hey, maybe later we can get together and kinda talk." Athena suggested shyly. 

_Say no Harry!_ Ron's mind shouted. 

"I'd love to. Talking with someone of your charm would be entertaining." Harry spouted off. He was pretty proud of himself. He was a real master of flattery! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Lyria's plan was a simple one. She would throw herself into her work so that she wouldn't be tempted to stress over Sirius. Not that she would stress over Sirius, or her relationship with him, or their breakup... Oh who was she kidding? She would definitely stress over Sirius. From the moment she got back to Hogwarts she locked herself in her room and began to look over the book the students had already bought for DADA. She wasn't too fond of the author so she decided to only use it as a supplement, most of the class would be lecture, and hands-on demonstrations of course. She didn't realize that in locking herself up she was not only avoiding Sirius but also her daughter. In fact she'd been so wrapped up in her problems that neither Athena or Jason had crossed her mind since the initial shock of it all. She wasn't insensitive but when one's heart had been locked for so long it is hard to open the rusty lock. 

Sirius sat in his room, which had been maliciously placed right next to Snape's. Was Dumbledore not thinking or was this truly the only room available? Dumbledore claimed that the teacher's wing was full because Proffessor Binns hadn't had a bedroom and that the only place for him to stay was in the dungeon, by Snape. Sirius had, of course, agreed but was now having second thoughts. He could smell a strange odor through the vent and couldn't tell if it was potion's brewing or just Snape's greasy hair. He shuddered. Maybe he _should_ become a murderer, he could knock off one of the Proffessors and move upstairs. Getting rid of Snape wouldn't solve his problem because he'd still be stuck in the dungeon. He wondered if Proffessor Trelawney would be able to _forsee_ a dark man coming to kill her. Heck, she'd probably been forseeing that for years, Sirius would be doing her a favor by making at least one of her predictions come true. No, that would be mean. He would need a new plan. There was one advantage to being down here though. He wouldn't accidently run into Lyria. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Ron grabbed Hermione's arm as they left the dining hall. Harry and Athena had chatted the entire time, with Harry pouring on the compliments. Both seemed oblivious to the other two and Ron had had enough. "I want to bug Harry and I want you to show me how. Also, I need you to get information from Athena about how she feels about both Harry and I. This is war and Potter is going down." 

"Ron, Harry is your friend." Hermione scolded lightly. She didn't even want to be involved in this. Thank God she had never had feelings for either of them. They were way too difficult. 

"Not anymore. I clearly had first crack at her!" Ron stated. Hermione looked at him, abhorred and then turned and left. "Great, now what did I do?" Ron sighed and went up to his room. Trying to flat out spy on Harry would be too obvious unless...Yes that was it. He sprinted up to their room and rummaged around a little until he found Harry's invisibility cloak. "Perfect." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Harry and Athena entered the Gryffindor common room and sat on one of the huge red velvet couches. "This place is so cool." Athena said again. Harry began to laugh and she looked at him questioningly. "What's so funny?" 

"You're wearing sneakers under your robe." Harry pointed out, laughing. 

"Yeah so? They look about twenty times better than those dopey shoes all the rest of you are wearing." 

"It's just funny." Harry laughed some more and then reached out a hand to brush back the hair that fell into her face. Ron stood up. That was HIS hair. He wanted to brush back that hair. In his fury he hit a lamp and it crashed to the floor. 

"What was that?" Athena asked, looking at the fallen light. 

"It was probably Peeves, he's the school potergeist." Harry explained, but he saw a foot, disconnected from a body and knew what had happened. So Ron was watching, using HIS invisibility cloak. Harry put his arm around Athena, who looked alarmed. "Don't worry, I'll protect you." 

Ron fumed and stormed upstairs, he'd seen enough. Athena looked at Harry curiously. "I'm sure he's harmless." Athena said. "Hermione told me all about him." 

_Okay Potter, time for a new approach._ Harry coached himself. "Okay well I just wanted a reason to put my arm around you." _There you go...honesty._

__

__Athena blushed. "Oh...um...okay." She really didn't know how to react to that. 

"Sirius never told me had a daughter...especially not one so beautiful." Harry whispered. Athena shivered and looked into Harry's eyes. 


	6. Someone Like You

AN: Sorry this has taken so long. On top of ff.net being down I also was moving and had no computer for a pretty long while. Now I am back, however. YAY! As always PLEASE read and review!  
  


_~Six Weeks Later~_

            Athena's first month flew by as she juggled her time between classes, sturdy sessions with Hermione, getting to know her parents and spending time with her boyfriend, Ron Weasley.  He and Harry had, as usual, made up rather quickly and Harry had backed off.  He and Athena had actually become very good friends and spent many hours sitting in the Gryffindor common room talking, which is precisely what they were doing at 11pm on October 20th.

            "I don't know.  I just wish he'd talk more."  Athena sighed as she looked up at Harry.  They were on the couch and Athena was lying on her back with her head in his lap.

            "Ron's just shy."  Harry said with a smile.  "Give him time."

            "We've been going out for over a month!  How much time does he need?!"  She asked, exasperated.  She then tacked on with a mumble, "I would have been better off with you."

            Harry gave no sign he'd heard her but his heart jumped a little at her comment.  He had been thinking the same thing for awhile now but Ron was too good a friend for him to do that to.  Athena seemed to be all Ron talked about nowadays but it seemed to be mainly superficial stuff.  _Did you see how purple her eyes were today? or __She has such a cute face.  Now that he thought about it Harry truly doubted Ron really knew anything about Athena.  But Harry knew.  He knew what it had been like for her back at Faulkner, how hard she was struggling to catch up and still have time to get to know her parents.  He knew about the nightmares as well and was sure they had something to do with her still missing twin.  But above all he knew how to comfort her when she cried.  Ron had never seen her cry and rarely seen her laugh.  The more he thought about it the more upset he got.  What right did Ron have to be with her?  To be with the girl that he, Harry, loved?  __Loved?  Harry questioned himself; but it was true.  He was head over heels in love with Athena Black and couldn't do a thing about it._

            "Hello?  Harry?"  Athena asked with a laugh.

            "Huh?  What?"  Harry looked down at her as he snapped out of his reverie.

            "You like…phased out.  Am I that boring?"  She jutted out her bottom lip in a pout.

            "Trust me."  Harry said, leaning down and kissing her forehead.  "You aren't boring."

            Athena smiled and sat up.  "Yeah I guess.  Okay, I'm going to bed."

            "Night Fena."  Harry said, using his special nickname for her.  He waited until she'd disappeared up the stairs before retreating to his dorm.  The fact of the matter was, Athena wasn't the only one having nightmares, and though Harry's "skill" in Divination was lacking he knew a premonition when he saw one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Lyria looked gravely at Sirius.  "I can't just sit here and wait for something to happen!"  She said.  "And I find it hard to believe you're content wither.  Our son is out there and we're expected to trust FUDGE in finding him?!"

            Inwardly Sirius was smiling.  Lyria had said "our" son as opposed to "my".  She'd been letting him in more recently and Sirius was beginning to have hope that they would be able to work everything out.  "Lyri, will you just calm down?"

            "I **AM calm Sirius!"  She yelled, in a voice which showed she was quite the opposite.**

            "Athena was brought to us-"

            "By Dumbledore!  Fudge had no more to do with finding her than he did with conceiving her!"

            Sirius wrapped his arms around her.  "Well, if my memory serves me right I think that blissful moment was shared only by you and I."  Then, looking down into her blue-gray eyes, he leaned over and kissed her softly.  Pulling back he whispered, "I didn't betray Lily and James" before capturing her lips again with another searing kiss.  Lyria returned the kiss with fifteen years of pent-up passion releasing itself in seconds.  The moment was perfect until the door was thrown open.  

            "We've found him."  Professor McGonagall said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Athena sat up in bed and carefully climbed out, afraid of waking the others.  She stopped in the common room before leaving and turned back around, this time going towards the boys' dorm.  She walked into the dorm the fifth year Gryffindor males shared but then realized she didn't know which of the heavy curtained beds belonged to who.  Finally she decided to just pick on and sure enough it was Harry's.  She carefully climbed onto it and then flopped down onto Harry's stomach, straddling him.

            "Oooff."  Harry gasped waking.  He let his eyes focus.  "Fena?  What in the world?  Is something wrong?"

            "Shhh."  Athena giggled.  "No I'm fine.  He's here though…at least I think he is."

            "Jason?  Did you have another dream?"

            "Yeah and I was gonna go see if he really was here but realized I could get in trouble for wandering around the school at night so I came here to talk to you about it instead."

            "Right."  Harry laughed.  "Because being caught in the boys' dormitory after hours wouldn't get you into trouble."

            "Oh…I didn't think about that…"  Athena's eyes grew wide.

            "Relax, it's fine."  Harry smiled.  "But never scare me like that again.  I thought something had happened to you."

            "Awww, aren't you sweet."  Athena held out her arms and Harry sat up, hugging her.

            "Though I could kill you for waking me up in the middle of the night."

            Athena didn't have time to answer because the curtains on Harry's bed were pulled open by a very red faced Ron.  "You jerk."  He spat, glaring at Harry.

            Harry looked at Ron, confused, and then at Athena.  Finally her realized it and held up both his hands.  "This isn't what it looks like."

            "It looks like you and Ron's girl have been snogging."  Seamus said with a grin from the now open curtains on the other side of Harry's bed.

            Athena climbed off Harry's lap, her own face very red.  "Ron really.  It's not what you think."  She shot a glare at Seamus as she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's neck.  She kissed him gently.  "I premise.  Harry and I were not in his bed snogging.  We're just friends.  You're my boyfriend.  Not him."  She kissed him again and he began to calm down, until he looked at Harry again.

            "What were you doing then?"  He asked Harry rather sharply.

            "Athena…wanted to use my cloak to see if she could find her brother."  Harry covered, knowing Ron would be almost as upset by the truth as he would if they'd been snogging.  "She thinks he's here."  Harry was stinging from Athena's words and they echoed through his head.  _You're my boyfriend.  Not him.  So maybe it was true but it still hurt._

            "That's all?"  Ron asked, his arms wrapped possessively around Athena's waist.

            "That's all."  Harry reaffirmed.  "Ready Fena?"  He asked.  He knew Ron hated when he called her that.  Harry believed it was because he was jealous that Harry had a special name for her and Ron himself didn't.

            "Yeah."  Athena kissed Ron once more and then slipped under the cloak with Harry.  She shot him a look of gratitude and they headed toward the door.

            "You can't blame him Ron."  Seamus commented.   "Your woman's got nice knockers."

            "Yeah."  Ron laughed a little bit.   Within seconds Harry had dropped the cloak and punched Seamus square in the jaw.  Athena's face was flushed with embarrassment at the comment combined with anger that Ron had agreed and laughed.  She was almost in tears.

            "If you EVER speak about her again like that I will hurt you so badly you'll be talking out of you ass for a month.  Got me?"  Harry asked his hand on Seamus' collar.  Seamus nodded, still fearing Harry.  "Apologize.  Now."  He demanded.

            "I'm r-really s-s-sorry Athena."  Seamus stuttered.

            "You should just hope she doesn't decide to mention it to her father."  Harry tossed Seamus aside and turned to Ron.  "Ron you're one of my oldest friends but I can't believe you didn't defend her.  You don't deserve a girl like Athena.  If I were lucky enough to be her boyfriend I would treat her with the utmost respect.  She and I may be  "just friends" but we share a bond you'll never have."  He looked over at Athena, who now had hot tears streaming down her face.  "I'm so sorry."  He whispered as he approached her.  He pulled her into a comforting hug, allowing Ron to have a good look before he covered them with the invisibility cloak and ushered her out and down the stairs.

            "Thank you."  She whispered.

            "Hey that's what friends are for right?"  Harry said, trying to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

            "Yeah."  _Friends.  They were more than "just friends"  Athena knew._

            "Come on, let's go find your brother."


	7. Twin Brother

Jason Black lay in the infirmary trying to take in everything that was happening. There were strange, robe-clad people around asking him tons of questions using odd words like Muggle. His head hurt a bit and he was quite exhausted. He briefly wondered if he were in a mental institute of some sort. These definitely didn't look like the coppers he normally saw around town, which is who he'd expected to be caught by when he ran away. Not that he'd expected to be caught, mind you. "If everyone could back up for just a moment!" Madam Pomfrey said angrily. "He needs to be treated and your questions are only going to fluster him." A woman walked up and held out a piece of chocolate to Jason. "Here, eat this."

"Now this is more like it." Jason said taking the chocolate. He had decided by then that the other people must be patients at the asylum and this woman the nurse. The old man with the long white beard seemed especially crazy. He ate the chocolate and felt much better.

A pretty woman with hard features walked forward. "Jason…" She whispered. "I'm Lyria...I'm your mother." She said, tears coming from the corners of her eyes.

"M-my mum is dead." Jason said, his shell coming out. He was now scared.

"Do I look dead?"

"Well, no…" The woman had familiar eyes which Jason soon realized mirrored his own. "You're r-really my mum?" The lady nodded and Jason felt a combination of love and anger towards the woman standing before him.

"I know what you're thinking," Said the man with dark hair and an ominous build. "You want to know where your mother and I have been your whole life."

"You m-must be my f-father." Jason said. "And yes I am."

"When you were only a few days old your mother saw you murdered." The man said, with sadness in his dark eyes. "It was a ploy by the Ministry of Magic because they feared you, for being my son. Your sister was taken away also."

"M-magic?" Jason asked skeptically. He wasn't shocked by the news that he had a sister. He knew that, he always had, it was this magic thing that got him curious.

"You're a wizard Jason." The woman, his mum, said. "My name is Lyria Strider and this is Sirius Black. We're your parents. We didn't know you were still alive until about six weeks ago and the Ministry has been working to find you ever since. Now you're at Hogwarts. It's a school for witches and wizards, like you." 

Jason nodded. So it was a little farfetched and he still thought that maybe he was in an asylum but these people at least seemed nice. He did believe that those were his parents but they may be crazy. "Okay."

"Okay?" His father said. "That's all? We tell you that you're a wizard and that magic is real and you just say okay?"

"Yeah." Jason said again. He was just happy to be away from the Culpepper's. He'd been running away and now he had somewhere to live. Good deal. 

"We'll have people to help you get caught up, of course. You're four years behind." The old bearded man said. "I am Professor Dumbledore. The head master here."

Yup, he was definitely crazy. Jason decided. "Nice to meet you." Then something extraordinary occurred: Two people appeared in thin air. The girl had the dark looks of the man claiming to be his father. The boy had a roguish look in his eye.

"SEE! I told you he was here!" The girl said running forward. "I knew it I knew it I knew it!" She said. "I'm your sister, Athena. You're Jason. I knew you were coming." She turned to the boy and stuck out her tongue.

"I didn't doubt you!" The boy said. "I'm Harry, your god-brother I guess you would say."

"R-right." Jason said, overwhelmed. "H-how d-did you j-just…appear?"

"Harry's got an invisibility cloak." Athena said, grabbing hold of a shimmery piece of cloth. "Now you see me…" She pulled it over herself and disappeared. "Now you don't." She took it off and handed it to Harry with a smile but Jason saw pain in her eyes. "It's about time you got here. Now I'm not the dumbest fifth year."

"Athena that's not nice." Lyria said smiling. She was glad her children appeared to be getting along.

"I was kidding." Athena insisted. "But you're okay?" She said.

"Of course he's okay." Sirius said. "Why wouldn't he be?"

"Oh, no reason." Athena said, backing up and leaning against Harry. He caught her eye and knew it had to do with her dreams.

Dumbledore looked at the two. "You aren't supposed to be out of your dorms at nighttime."

"I know sir but this is a special case." Athena insisted.

"Yes, when Mr. Potter is involved it always seems to be a special case." Dumbledore smiled. 

Harry smiled at Dumbledore. "See." He whispered to Athena. "I get away with everything."

Athena smiled up at him and felt a jitter in her stomach so she quickly looked away and noticed her parents were holding hands. "OH MY GOD!" She cried happily.

"What?" Sirius asked confused.

"You two…you made up! Are you getting married now?!"

"Aren't you jumping the gun a bit Athena?" Lyria said blushing.

"You know Lyria, I don't think she is. Not at all." Sirius turned to her and got down on one knee. "We've spent too much time apart but I don't want to be away from you any longer. Marry me Lyria. Please, like we'd planned years ago. Marry me so we can truly be a family again. I still love you. I never stopped. Loving you was what helped me survive Azkaban. Say yes…"


End file.
